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Color Options and Web-Exclusive Projects from American Patchwork & Quilting June 2009

We know you love the projects that appear in American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. We took inspiration from projects printed in the magazine and created web-exclusive versions, complete with full instructions.

Summertime Blues

Curvy quilting softens the edges of the pieced flowers and leaves, fooling the eye into seeing them as curved rather than straight. Button-centered appliquéd flowers and an inner border of hourglass blocks give this quilt charm.

Anchors Away

Broken Log Cabins

To radically change the look of Anchors Away, quilt tester Laura Boehnke used romantic florals, stripes, and prints. “Stripes always make a nice frame and the roses in the outer border add a feminine flair,” Laura says.

Pick & Choose

Fabric bits and pieces are everywhere in this quilt, including the sashing, borders, and binding. You’ll love digging into your stash to come up with just the right mixture. The sashing may look complicated, but actually is simple—just combine fabric strips, then trim to fit.

Pick & Choose Color Option

Star Party

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke’s light and bright version of Pick & Choose showcases the Midwest Modern 2 collection by Amy Butler for Westminster. If you have darker colors in your stash, gather your friends for a fabric swap. By trading bits and pieces, you’ll expand your stash without adding large pieces in colors you don’t often use.

Checkerboard Charm Color Option

Checkerboard Heart Wall Hanging

By using deliberate color placement, quilt tester Laura Boehnke brought out the romance in her one-block version of Checkerboard Charm. She first drew the heart on graph paper, then surrounded it with radiating squares for a Trip Around the World effect.

Americana Rose Color Option

Star Crib Quilt

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke worked from the outside in on her bright kid’s quilt version of Americana Rose, using a vivid stripe as the starting point for choosing colors and fabrics. The result is an evening sky of bright stars.

Faux Finish

At first glance this quilt looks more time-consuming than it actually is. What saves you time? The appliqué foundations aren’t really pieced. Instead the designers used a “cheater” checkerboard print, needle-turning the floral motifs on top.

Faux Finish Color Option

Fused Garden Blooms

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke beautifully framed just one block in her table-topper version of Faux Finish. To mimic the look of hand appliqué in less time, she fused pieces in place, then machine-stitched around each piece with matching thread and a tiny zigzag.

Mix It Up

Mix It Up Color Option

Stars at Dusk Table Runner

For her version of Mix It Up, quilt tester Laura Boehnke began with a monochromatic palette of browns from the Serenity collection by Daiwabo for Maywood Studio. Adding cool blue gave the table runner a serene feeling.